Next Game
No. 16 Creighton (7-1) plays its first true road game of the year when it heads a hour west on I-80 to take on in-state rival Nebraska (6-1) in the team’s final trip to the Bob Devaney Sports Center (13,595) in Lincoln, Neb.
Tip-off on Thursday is scheduled for 7:04 pm.

Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“AM 590 - Omaha’s ESPN Radio”) will broadcast all Creighton men’s basketball games during the 2012-13 season, including Thursday. T. Scott Marr and Nick Bahe will call the action.
The audio is also webcast live at www.AM590espnradio.com.

TV/Web Broadcast Information
Thursday’s game will air nationally on ESPN3.com. Mike Gleason and Rich Zvosec will announce.

Live Stats Information
All of Creighton’s games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the top of the page for a link the exact URL.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.

Scouting No. 16 Creighton
Creighton is 7-1 this season, including wins over Wisconsin, Arizona State, UAB and Saint Joseph’s. Creighton’s only loss this year has come against Boise State on Nov. 28th.
Junior forward Doug McDermott (21.3 ppg., 7.1 rpg.) is the nation’s only returning consensus First Team All-American, as well as the nation’s returning scorer (22.9 ppg. last year). He’s led the Jays in scoring and rebounding each of the past two seasons, and has already picked up MVC Freshman of the Year, MVC Newcomer of the Year, MVC Player of the Year and MVC Tournament MVP honors in his career.
The other three returning starters include senior center Gregory Echenique (10.4 ppg., 6.5 rpg., 1.3 bpg.), senior guard Grant Gibbs (7.3 ppg., 6.0 apg.) and junior guard Jahenns Manigat (.468 3FG% last year). Gibbs led the MVC with 176 assists last year, while Echenique had a league-high 57 blocks en route to earning MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Sophomore Austin Chatman replaced three-year starter Antoine Young, the lone player from last year’s rotation to depart. Chatman is averaging 8.8 points and 4.7 assists per contest.
The Bluejays returned 10 lettermen and four starters from last year’s 29-6 team that reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament, and have been widely praised for having one of the nation’s most potent offenses.
Creighton is shooting 53.1 percent from the floor, 78.7 percent at the line, and outrebounding foes by 4.9 boards per game. CU scores 82.6 points per game and hasn’t been held to less than 70 points yet.

Scouting Nebraska
Nebraska has started the season with a 6-1 record, including back-to-back double-digit wins over Wake Forest and Southern California.
Along with third-ranked Michigan, the Cornhuskers are one of two Big Ten teams to have three men averaging 14.0 points per game or more, a trio that includes Dylan Talley (15.6 ppg., 6.0 rpg., 2.7 apg.), Ray Gallegos (14.0 ppg., 1.1 spg.) and Brandon Ubel (14.0 ppg., 6.9 rpg.). Gallegos has tied his career-high with back-to-back 20-point games.
Another player to keep an eye out for is reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, Andre Almeida (9.4 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 1.9 bpg.). Almeida scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 16-point win at Wake Forest on Nov. 27th.
The Cornhuskers returned just one starter and seven lettermen from last year’s team that finished 12-18.

The CoachesGreg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) is in his third season as head coach at Creighton. He led CU to a 29-6 mark last year, and is now 58-23 with the Bluejays. McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000). He owns a career mark of 338-218 in 19 seasons and is 207-154 in 12 Division I campaigns. McDermott is assisted by Darian DeVries, Steve Lutz and Steve Merfeld.
Tim Miles (Mary, 1989) is in his first year as head coach at Nebraska, owning a 6-1 record. He’s previously been head coach at Mayville State, SW Minnesota State, North Dakota State and Colorado State, and owns a career mark of 289-221 in 18 years overall. Miles is assisted by Chris Harriman, Craig Smith and Ben Johnson.

The Series With Nebraska
Creighton has won 10 of the past 13 regular-season match-ups, but Nebraska owns a 25-20 all-time lead in the series vs. Creighton.
The teams have alternated wins and losses in the last seven meetings, with the home squad winning each time.
Creighton’s last win in Lincoln came on Dec. 11, 2004, when Kellen Miliner’s shot with 0.7 seconds left helped the Jays to a 50-48 win.
Nebraska owns a 16-5 edge in Lincoln all-time, and has held the Jays to 61 points or less each of the last four games there.
Creighton won four of the first seven meetings in the history of the series before a 45-year break where the in-state rivals did not play each other. The series has been played at least once each season since 1977 and is CU’s longest running non-conference series by a landslide.Greg McDermott is 7-3 all-time vs. Nebraska (1-1 as Creighton head coach). Tim Miles has never faced Creighton.

McDermott vs. MilesGreg McDermott and Tim Miles are long-time friends who have had teams playing each other for more much of the past 15 years.
In fact, it was Miles who replaced McDermott as head coach at North Dakota State in 2001.
Thursday’s meeting will be the third different school for both in a head-to-head match-up, as they squared off in match-ups between Wayne State and SW Minnesota State (seven times) and Iowa State and North Dakota State (twice).
McDermott’s teams are a perfect 9-0 in the head-to-head series.Greg McDermott vs. Tim Miles, Head-to-Head
Year McDermott’s Team Miles’ Team
1997-98 Wayne State 79 SW Minnesota St. 65
1997-98 Wayne State 72 SW Minnesota St. 69
1998-99 Wayne State 84 SW Minnesota St. 67
1998-99 Wayne State 65 SW Minnesota St. 62
1999-00 Wayne State 77 SW Minnesota St. 53
1999-00 Wayne State 67 SW Minnesota St. 65
1999-00 Wayne State 84 SW Minnesota St. 72
2006-07 Iowa State 67 North Dakota St. 54
2009-10 Iowa State 73 North Dakota St. 71

Last Game Recap
Creighton led 12-3 at the first media timeout and would turn that into a 45-13 lead less than 12 minutes later in an 80-51 win over Atlantic-10 favorite Saint Joseph’s on Saturday. Doug McDermott had 18 points in the first 12 minutes and finished with 23 points, while Gregory Echenique totaled 16 points and six rebounds.

BCS Busters, Again
Creighton improved to 6-1 in the past two seasons vs. teams from BCS conferences with wins in Las Vegas two weeks ago over Wisconsin (Big 10) and Arizona State (Pac 12). Last year Creighton defeated Alabama (SEC) as well as Big 10 foes Nebraska, Northwestern and Iowa, losing only to North Carolina (ACC) in the NCAA Tournament.
In those seven games, All-American Doug McDermott has averaged 24.4 points and 8.9 rebounds, well above his career averages (18.9 ppg., 7.7 rpg.).

B1G Ten, Big Time
Creighton went 3-0 against the Big Ten last winter, including home wins vs. both Northwestern and Nebraska and a neutral site beatdown of Iowa, and are 1-0 this year after a neutral site win vs. Wisconsin in Las Vegas.
Since 2000, Creighton has played just nine games against Big Ten teams at the time of the game. Six of those games were at neutral sites, three were against ranked teams, and two of those games went to overtime.
Creighton owns seven wins in 16 games against the Big Ten since 1973.
In five career games vs. Big Ten foes, Doug McDermott has averaged 24.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on 46-78 shooting (59.0 percent) and 8-17 from downtown (47.1 percent).
Creighton vs. Big Ten Teams, Since 1973
Score Opponent Date
11/23/12 vs. Wisconsin W 84-74
12/22/11 Northwestern W 87-79
12/04/11 Nebraska W 76-66
11/20/11 vs. Iowa W 82-59
11/28/10 at Northwestern L 52-65
11/26/09 vs. #15 Michigan L 76-83 (OT)
11/24/04 vs. Ohio State W 65-63 (OT)
03/17/02 vs. #13 Illinois L 60-72
03/15/01 vs. #24 Iowa L 56-69
11/27/99 Iowa W 85-76
11/25/98 at Iowa W 75-73
11/30/96 vs. #24 Minnesota L 63-64
12/27/91 vs. Northwestern L 57-76
12/01/90 at Iowa L 77-83
12/27/75 vs. #20 Minnesota L 74-80
12/20/74 at #2 Indiana L 53-71

Nebraska Natives
Creighton owns two players from the state of Nebraska as Josh Jones (Omaha) and Taylor Stormberg (Omaha) are both in-state products. That duo has combined for 56 of Creighton’s points this fall.
Nebraska also has six student-athletes that hail from the state (Deverell Biggs, Kyle Kurkowski, Trevor Menke, Mike Peltz, Max Ritchie and Jordan Tyrance), though Peltz’s four points are the only contribution to the scoring column thus far.

Chasing History, Part IDoug McDermott has scored 21 or more points in each of the last four games, moving up to 11th on Creighton’s all-time scoring list with 1,552 career points.
The junior is just 23 points shy of Benoit Benjamin’s 1,575 points that rank 10th in school history.
At McDermott’s current scoring average of 21.3 points per game this year he’ll become Creighton’s all-time leading scorer in 27 more games. Creighton has a minimum of 24 games remaining this season.
By comparison, both of Creighton’s top two all-time leading scorers, Rodney Buford (1995-99) and Bob Harstad (1987-91), had exactly 1,540 points at the end of his junior seasons.

Chasing History, Part II
Creighton plays its annual game vs. Nebraska on Thursday when the Jays visit the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln for the final time.
Creighton is 11-4 in its last 15 regular-season match-ups with the Cornhuskers, but hasn’t won in Lincoln since Kellen Miliner’s game-winning shot with 0.7 seconds left on Dec. 11, 2004.
With a victory over NU, Greg McDermott can become the first Creighton coach in history to win two (or more) of his first three meetings versus the Cornhuskers.

National Rankings
Creighton is ranked in three sports this week. The Bluejays are ranked eighth in men’s soccer, 13th/16th in men’s basketball and 21st in volleyball.
Since October 1st, those three teams are a combined 35-2-1.
The volleyball team reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, the men’s basketball team is off to a 7-1 start, and the men’s soccer team plays Indiana on Friday in the national semifinals in Hoover Ala., making its fifth College Cup trip since 1996.

Road Records
Through games of December 2nd, the MVC had a 10-7 record in true road games. That ..588 win percentage was the nation’s fourth-best mark, trailing only the Mountain West (12-6, .667), Big East (7-4, .636) and Big Ten (6-4, .600).

Top Four From Three
While Gregory Echenique has yet to attempt a three-point shot this season, Creighton’s other top three scorers continue to fill it up from deep.Austin Chatman (.545), Ethan Wragge (.500) and Doug McDermott (.469) have combined to make 44-of-89 three-point attempts this season, good for 49.4 percent.
Chatman is a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range in the past four games, while McDermott is 9-of-12 from downtown in the past two contests. Wragge started the season 18-for-29 through five games before coming back down to Earth.
Either Wragge or McDermott has had three or more three-pointers in 10 of Creighton’s last 11 games dating back to late last season.
McDermott has made 21-of-34 three-point shots (.618) in the month of December in the past two seasons.

Half The Story
The team to lead at halftime has lost each of the last four meetings between Creighton and Nebraska in Lincoln.
Creighton has wasted leads of 29-21 (2010), 31-18 (2008) and 31-28 (2006), while the Huskers couldn’t hold a 22-18 edge in 2004.
Oddly, the trend has not held true in Omaha, where Creighton has led at half (and won) of each the past eight regular-season meetings.

Points Wanted
Creighton has struggled to score at Bob Devaney Sports Center in its recent trips to Lincoln, failing to crack 62 points or more in each of its past four trips to town.
In those four games, during which Creighton is 1-3, the Jays have averaged a paltry 54.3 points per game.

Comparing Offenses
Last season Creighton had one of the nation’s most effective and most efficient offenses. With all but one regular from that squad back, we thought we’d take a second to compare the 2011-12 and 2012-13 teams through eight games:
Stat 2011-12 2012-13
Record 7-1 7-1
FG Made 247 230
FG% .516 .531
3FG Made 80 72
3FG% .462 .411
FT Made 106 129
FT% .671 .787
Rebound Margin +3.0 +4.9
Assists 164 143
Turnovers 101 95
Scoring Average 85.0 82.6
Scoring Margin +15.6 +19.2

McDermott Seeks 60th Win at Creighton
A win on Thursday would be the 60th on the Bluejay sideline for Greg McDermott. McDermott, who has coached 82 games to date, would be the third-quickest in program history to 60 wins.
The coaches that have been quickest to 60 wins in program history currently are Tom Apke (77 games) and Arthur A. Schabinger (80).

Pizza Pie, Piled High = Wins
Thanks to a promotion with Omaha-based Godfather’s Pizza, Creighton season ticket-holders can get a free mini pizza any time the Jays score 75 points at home.
History has proven that when the team earns the fans pizza, it often leads to a victory as well.
The first three years of CenturyLink Center Omaha (2003-06), Creighton needed 70 points to earn its fans free pizza, and the Jays went 27-3 when reaching that threshold, closing out that run with 12 straight wins.
Since upping the standard to 75 points prior to the 2006-07 campaign, Creighton is a perfect 59-0 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
In other words, Creighton is a perfect 71-0 in CenturyLink Center Omaha since Feb. 6, 2005 when scoring enough points to earn its fans some free pizza.

A New Streak
Now that the impressive streak when scoring 70 or more is over, it’s time to look at a few other eye-opening streaks still in play.
Since Greg McDermott took over three years ago, Creighton is averaging 77.89 points per home game (3,427 points in 44 games).
That’s a vital number since Creighton is 84-0 at home (57-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 78 points or more and 68-0 at home (45-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 80 points or more at home dating to a 92-83 loss to Southern Illinois on Feb. 19, 2000.

Pick Your Poison
Last season Creighton ranked third nationally in three-point percentage, making 42.4 percent from downtown.
This year’s team can still fill it up from long-range (41.1 percent), but are off the charts from close-range as well.
This year’s Bluejay team is shooting 61.2 percent from two-point range, tops in the nation. According to data from bbstate.com, no team since at least 2005-06 has shot better than 58.7 from two-point range.

Whistle While You Work
Creighton has enjoyed a big edge at the line this season, making more free throws than their opponents have attempted.
Creighton is 129-of-164 at the line compared to 80-of-118 shooting from its foes. Creighton’s 78.7 percent marksmanship from the line ranks sixth nationally.

Ball Control Offense
Creighton owns a stellar 143/95 assist/turnover ratio (1.51) as a team, led by Grant Gibbs’ unreal 48/8 ratio (6.00).
Last year Creighton ranked sixth nationally by finishing with a 1.48 assist/turnover ratio.
CU’s ratio as a team ranks ninth nationally, while Gibbs joins UCLA’s Larry Drew II as the nation’s only players averaging at least six assists per game while also owning an assist/turnover ratio of 6/1 or better.
On a national basis, Gibbs’ 2.77 assist/turnover ratio during the past two years is tops among players with at least 210 assists or more.

High Voltage Offense
Creighton has scored 70 points or more in each of its first eight games for the second straight season. Last year’s team did it in 11 straight to start the year.
Creighton owns a streak of 93 straight home wins when scoring 71 points or more.

Stat Leaders
Statistically, Creighton ranks among the nation’s top-12 in eight different categories. The Jays are second in field goal percentage (.531), sixth in free-throw percentage (.787) and points (661), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.51), 11th in assists per game (17.9) and 12th in points per game (82.6), scoring margin (19.3) and three-point field goals per game (9.0).

Scoring On The Badgers
Creighton scored 84 points on Nov. 23rd against Wisconsin’s vaunted defense that has ranked among the nation’s top-10 in scoring defense in each of the past six seasons.
It was the first time in either of the last two seasons that Wisconsin had allowed 80 points in a game, and the eighth-most allowed in regulation in Bo Ryan’s 12 years as a head coach.

McDermott Earns MVC AwardDoug McDermott has been named MVC Player of the Week twice this season.
His first honor came Nov. 12th for his performance in a Nov. 9 win vs. North Texas. McDermott had 21 points and 11 rebounds to produce CU’s first double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver in 2001-02.
He was also honored on Nov. 26th after averaging 25.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while earning MVP honors of the Las Vegas Invitational.
McDermott now owns seven career MVC Player of the Week honors, something only Hersey Hawkins (14), and Bob Harstad (8) can top.

Points, Points and More Points
Creighton ranks fourth nationally by averaging 1.198 points per possession this season, ahead of the pace from last year’s team that ranked second nationally at 1.15 pps.
The Jays have scored at least 1.06 points per possession each of its first eight games this season. In data going back to 2005-06 on bbstate.com, this is the first time the Jays have averaged 1.05 pps. or better in six (or more) straight games.
Defensively, Creighton is allowing 0.912 points per possession to rank 87th nationally. By comparison, last year’s team allowed 1.01 per possession to rank 201st nationally, and the 2010-11 squad allowed 1.006 to rank 192nd-best nationally. Six of Creighton’s first eight opponents have been hold under 0.96 points per possession this season.

Bombs Away
Forward Ethan Wragge has been red-hot from downtown to start his junior season, sinking 23-of-46 shots from behind the three-point arc (50 percent).
Wragge, who made 16-of-25 from deep in the four games of the Las Vegas Invitational, is Creighton’s second-leading scorer at 10.9 points per game despite playing just 17.4 minutes per game. Wragge’s 83 points are just nine less than the total from the reserves of Creighton’s first eighth opponents this season (92).
Among players with at least 2.5 three-point baskets per game this season, Wragge ranks 19th in the nation in three-point percentage this season.

New Coaches UpdateGreg McDermott was one of 53 head coaches hired to coach a school prior to 2010-11. His 59 wins in that span are easily the most of that group, and McDermott, Tad Boyle (Colorado) and Dana Altman (Oregon) are the only men to win a postseason game each of their first two seasons.
Below is a list of the new coaches with 39 or more wins at their school since being hired.
School Coach W-L Next Game
Creighton Greg McDermott 59-23 12/6
Colorado Tad Boyle 54-27 12/5
Iona Tim Cluess 53-22 12/5
Oregon Dana Altman 52-29 12/8
Robert Morris Andy Toole 48-29 12/4
Marshall Tom Herrion 48-29 12/5
UCF Donnie Jones 47-25 12/12
Clemson Brad Brownell 44-28 12/8
Iowa State Fred Hoiberg 44-29 12/4
Indiana State Greg Lansing 42-31 12/8
UTEP Tim Floyd 42-31 12/8
Boise State Leon Rice 41-31 12/5
Hawaii Gib Arnold 39-31 12/9
Seton Hall Kevin Willard 39-33 12/4

Past Tourney Titles
Creighton’s 12th Annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational title was the program’s fifth-ever tournament title in a regular-season event. The Jays previously claimed titles in the Guardians Classic in both 2002 and 2004, the Las Vegas Classic crown in 2008 and last year’s Dale Howard Classic in Des Moines.
Creighton won its first game after each of its four previous regular-season tournament titles.
Creighton has also won a record 11 MVC Tournament titles.

Nearly 30, TwiceDoug McDermott scored 30 points against Wisconsin, then put up 29 points one night later versus Arizona State.
In the process, he nearly became the first Bluejay player since 1990 (Bob Harstad) to score 30 points in consecutive games.
As it was, McDermott became the first player with 29 points in consecutive contests since Chad Gallagher had 29 in consecutive games on Jan. 19 & 21, 1991.
McDermott owns 20 or more points in six of Creighton’s first eight games this season.

Austin Powers
After spending last year as a back-up to Antoine Young, sophomore Austin Chatman has taken over as Creighton’s starting point guard. Creighton’s been blessed with a legacy of some of the MVC’s best point guards in the last 15 years, a streak that began with four-year starters Ryan Sears(1997-2001), Tyler McKinney (2001-05) and Josh Dotzler (2005-09) at the point before Young ran the offense while starting the last three years.
Here’s a look at the stats, by year, of the men that Chatman is trying to replace, as well as the performances of each man in their first eight starts.
Freshman Sophomore
Name PPG APG CU W-L PPG APG CU W-L
Sears 10.5 4.8 18-10 8.7 4.0 22-9
McKinney 4.3 2.1 23-9 5.0 4.1 29-5
Dotzler 6.4 4.2 20-10 2.2 2.0 22-11
Young 4.9 1.4 27-8 7.1 3.1 18-16
Chatman 2.4 1.9 29-6 8.8 4.7 7-1

Dime TimeAustin Chatman’s 11 assists on Nov. 18 vs. Presbyterian were one shy of the CenturyLink Center Omaha record, set last season by Grant Gibbs vs. Northwestern. Chatman entered the game with a career-high of seven assists, then had nine by halftime.
Chatman’s 11 dimes led to 30 Bluejay points, and Creighton outscored the Blue Hose 63-26 in his 24 minutes of play.
In addition, Chatman’s 11 assists were the most by a Bluejay sophomore since Tyler McKinney had 12 assists in a 81-73 win at Nebraska on Dec. 21, 2002.

Having A Field Day
Creighton shot 50 percent or better in each of its first four games for the first time since 2002-03. That team finished the season 29-5 overall.
Creighton enters Thursday having shot 53.1 percent from the floor in its first eight games, second-best nationally. Each of its five leading scorers are shooting 51 percent or better from the field.

Winning Away From Home
Creighton won a school-record 15 games away from home last season. The Jays went 10-3 in true road games and were also 5-1 on neutral floors.
Creighton’s lone neutral-site loss came to North Carolina in a not-so “neutral” Greensboro, N.C., in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year’s team is 2-0 away from home, winning a pair of neutral-site contests in Las Vegas.

Where There’s A Will
Sophomore center Will Artino tied his career-high with 13 points in a Nov. 20 win against Longwood. He made 5-of-6 field goal attempts and 3-of-4 foul shots, all in just 11 minutes.
For good measure, Artino also added two steals versus the Lancers, also a career-high.

Quick Starts Key To Playing in Postseason
Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in 12 of the previous 14 seasons. Each of Creighton’s previous 13 3-0 starts have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.

Can’t Miss KidGregory Echenique is 31-for-42 (73.8 percent) from the field this season.
Through games of Monday, Echenique’s accuracy is second in the country among players with 30 or more field goals made.

Defense! Defense!
Creighton ranked 222nd nationally last season in field goal percentage defense at 44.1 percent, one area that the program has tried hard to improve on in the off-season.
The early results have been promising, as CU has limited foes to 40.7 percent marksmanship. That figure ranked 101st-best nationally in 2012-13 through Monday’s games.
Only one team (Boise State) has shot better than 43.4 percent this season against the Jays.

Not Half BadDoug McDermott outscored Presbyterian 20-17 in the first half in a Nov. 18 win. It was the second-most points McDermott has ever had at halftime, and the fourth-highest half of his career.
McDermott’s highest scoring half of his career has been 31 points, done last year in the second half at Bradley when he scored a career-best 44 points.
McDermott has scored 15 points or more in a half 26 times during his career, and Creighton is 24-0 in those contests (twice he’s scored 15 or more in both halves).

Crowd Control
Creighton has averaged 16,546 through six home games thus far, the best six-game start in program history.
Last year Creighton ranked sixth nationally by averaging 16,665 fans per home game and was averaging 16,095 fans per home game after six contests.

Rare AirGregory Echenique had one of the best all-around games of his career on Nov. 14 in the win vs. UAB, finishing with 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots. For good measure, he made 5-of-5 shots from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the line.
Echenique was the first Bluejay with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots in the same game since Benoit Benjamin had 15 points, 17 rebounds and four swats on Feb. 28, 1985 at Dayton.
Echenique was the first Bluejay to have a 13/16/4 game at home since Benjamin had 26 points, 18 rebounds and seven rejections in a win vs. Marquette on Jan. 27, 1985.
Incredibly, Benjamin had nine different games in his junior season with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks before Echenique ended the 27-year drought on Wednesday.

Jones-ing For Success
Senior guard Josh Jones gave Creighton a spark with 18 points off the bench, all in the second half, in the Nov. 14 victory over UAB.
A notorious streak shooter, Jones put together a personal 10-0 run as CU rallied from a 45-35 deficit with 17 minutes to go to tie the score.
He later had eight points during Creighton’s 17-0 run that buried the Blazers and gave CU a 70-55 cushion with 5:55 to go.
Jones’ career-high point total is 21, done vs. Davidson in the CBI of his sophomore campaign.
Creighton is now 9-0 all-time when Jones scores 12 points or more, with seven of those games having been played at CenturyLink Center Omaha.

Playing With The Lead
In 159 games at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 38 of those contests, a staggering 23.9 percent of the time, including seven wire-to-wire wins at home last season and two wins (Longwood, Saint Joseph’s) this season.
Creighton has trailed by double-digits in 37 career games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, only to rally to win 22 of those contests.

On The Trail
Creighton won six games last season after trailing by 10 or more points, including wins away from home at San Diego State and at Wichita State, on neutral floors vs. Drake and Alabama, and in home triumphs over Long Beach State and Evansville.
In its Nov. 14 win vs. UAB, Creighton trailed 45-35 in the second stanza, only to rally for a 77-60 win. It was the first time since Feb. 3, 2010 (vs. Evansville) that Creighton trailed by double-digits at any point before rallying to win by double-figures. That UAB game was also the first time in CenturyLink Center Omaha history that Creighton trailed by double-figures in the second half, yet still won by double-digits.
Creighton, which trailed 37-33 at the half to UAB, is 9-6 in the last two seasons when facing an intermission deficit.

Double-Double OpenerDoug McDermott opened his junior season with 21 points and 11 rebounds on Nov. 9 against North Texas in a 71-51 win.
He was the first Creighton player to have a double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver opened his junior campaign with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 72-51 victory over North Carolina A&T.
Korver would go on to earn MVC Player of the Year accolades as both a junior and as a senior. Last year McDermott was the first player in MVC history named MVC Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Creighton has won either the MVC regular-season title or MVC Tournament each of its previous six seasons it had a player with a double-double in the opener (2001-02, 1999-00, 1998-99, 1990-91, 1989-90, 1988-89).

Doubling Up on Double-Doubles
In addition to Doug McDermott’s season-opening double-double (21 pts., 11 reb.) vs. North Texas mentioned above, Gregory Echenique had 13 points and 16 rebounds on Wednesday against UAB.
It marks the first time that Creighton has had two different men with double-doubles in the first two games of the season since 2001-02.
In 2001-02, Kyle Korver had a double-double in the opener (14 pts., 10 reb.), and Brody Deren followed the next game with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a memorable double-overtime win vs. No. 17 Western Kentucky.

Poll Position
Creighton is ranked 13th in this week’s USA Today Top 25 Coaches poll and 16th in this week’s Associated Press poll. Creighton’s season-best rank came the week of Nov. 26th, when it was 11th in both polls.
Creighton was ranked 15th in this year’s preseason coaches poll, its first preseason recognition since coming in at No. 23 in 2006-07.
Creighton started this year with a No. 16 preseason ranking by the AP, its highest preseason mark in program history and the best by any MVC school since No. 6 Wichita State in 1981-82.

Chasing HistoryDoug McDermott has scored 825 points in his first 44 career home games. He is the all-time leading scorer in CenturyLink Center Omaha history.
McDermott also owns CenturyLink Center Omaha career records in points per game (18.8) and rebounds per game (7.7).
McDermott enters Thursday’s game with 1,552 career points in all venues, good for 11th in school history. His 29 points vs. Arizona State allowed him to pass Kevin McKenna (1,500 from 1977-81), and his 21 vs. Boise State moved him into 11th place and ahead of John C. Johnson (1,526 from 1975-79). Benoit Benjamin (1,575 from 1982-85) is 10th.

Super Streak Ends At 37Doug McDermott’s streak of 37 straight games in double-figures came to an end when he was held to five points vs. UAB on Nov. 14th.
McDermott had owned the nation’s third-longest active streak in the country, and the longest by any Bluejay since Vernon Moore’s stretch of 46 in a row in 1984 and 1985.
McDermott’s five points were the second-fewest in his career. His only game lower was his freshman season vs. Saint Joseph’s, when he was scoreless in his ninth career contest.
CU’s Top 10+ Point Streaks, Since 1981-82
No. Name Dates
46 Vernon Moore Jan. 30, 1984 - Mar. 5, 1985
37 Doug McDermott April 1, 2011-Nov. 9, 2012
32 Bob Harstad Feb. 24, 1990-Feb. 25, 1991
31 Benoit Benjamin Mar. 8, 1984 - Feb. 20, 1985

Milestone Man
Because he’s split his college career between Rutgers and Creighton, you might not realize the rather impressive college stats being generated by Gregory Echenique.
Echenique owns 1,098 points, 803 rebounds and 216 blocked shots in his first 112 games as a collegian. He entered the season as the nation’s only active player with at least 1,000 point, 750 rebounds and 200 blocked shots, and is currently the nation’s only active player with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 210 or more blocked shots.
Had all those stats been generated at Creighton, Echenique would rank 30th in career points, sixth in career rebounds and second in career blocked shots at CU.

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Senior center Gregory Echenique played for coach Eric Musselman on the Venezuelan National Team last summer, alongside the likes of former Maryland star and current Memphis Grizzlies guard Greivis Vasquez.
Echenique averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games at the FIBA Olympic Qualifier in Caracas in July against Lithuania and Nigeria, where he went head-to-head against NBA players such as Linas Kleiza, Jonas Valanciunas, and Al-Farouq Aminu.

10 Or More?
Creighton defeated each of its first six opponents by 10 points or more. It’s the first time since 1928-29 that Creighton won its first six games by double-digits. The 1928-29 squad did it in eight straight games to start the season.

Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has four players from Iowa on this season’s team, continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State’s top preps. CU’s Iowans this season includes senior Grant Gibbs (Marion), junior Doug McDermott (Ames), sophomore Will Artino (Waukee) and redshirt freshman Alex Olsen (Council Bluffs).
Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale) and Nate Funk (Sioux City).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 593 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.

Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in the preseason poll of league coaches, SID’s and media. The Bluejays earned 38-of-40 first-place votes and 398 points overall.
Illinois State was second with 327 points and the remaining two first-place votes, while Northern Iowa was third with 316 points. Wichita State (298) and Evansville (240) rounded out the upper half of the league.
In sixth was Drake (184), while Indiana State (165), Missouri State (122), Bradley (84) and Southern Illinois (66) round out the rest of the league predictions.
Creighton junior Doug McDermott was named preseason MVC Player of the Year. He’s joined on the team by repeat selections Jake Odum (Indiana State) and Colt Ryan (Evansville) as well as new picks Ben Simons (Drake) and Jackie Carmichael (Illinois State).
Creighton’s women were also picked to win the MVC, just the third time in league history the MVC favorites came from the same schools.

Portman To Enter MVC Hall of Fame
Bob Portman will enter the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame on March 8, 2013, during a banquet at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
Portman played for Creighton from 1966-69 and averaged 24.6 points and 12.9 rebounds per game during his college career.
Portman owns the Creighton records for single-game scoring (51), single-season scoring average (29.5) and career scoring average (24.7). He is also second for points in a season (738) and ranks fourth in career points (1,876), rebounds (979), free throws (382) and field goals made (747).

Going For 20, Again
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 13 of the last 14 seasons, an unprecedented feat in Missouri Valley Conference history that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just five schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 14 years: Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.
Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in exactly 13 of the past 14 years. That list consists of Creighton, Kent State, Kentucky, Texas, Utah State and Xavier.
That’s better than traditional powers Arizona, Connecticut and Memphis (12 each) and also ahead of Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin (11 each).

10 Conference Wins x 16
Last season’s Creighton team extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 16th consecutive season.
On a national basis, the only other current school with at least 16 straight years of 10 or more league wins is Kansas (18).
Each of the last 16 seasons has seen the team finish fourth place or better in the MVC as well.

Postseason x 15
Creighton has made the postseason in 15 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history.
The only eight schools to make the postseason in each of the last 14 years are Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Syracuse.

Postseason Win Streak
Thanks to an NCAA Tournament win over Alabama, the Creighton men’s basketball team has now won a postseason game in a school-record five straight seasons. The previous mark was three in a row from 1962-64.
The following eight programs are the only ones that have won a postseason game in five straight seasons, including 2011-12: Creighton, Kansas, Kansas State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse and Wisconsin.

Full House
Creighton finished sixth nationally in home attendance, averaging 16,665 fans per home game, in 2011-12. It’s the sixth straight season that CU has been among the nation’s top-25 in average home attendance, and set an MVC average home attendance record.
Creighton surpassed 200,000 home fans in a season for the sixth time. No other school in the history of the MVC has ever done so.
Creighton also ranked seventh nationally in men’s soccer attendance and 10th in baseball attendance, the nation’s only school in the top-10 of those three sports.
2011-12 Attendance Leaders (Final)
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 23,721
2. Syracuse 23,618
3. Louisville 21,503
4. North Carolina 20,159
5. Wisconsin 17,181
6. Creighton 16,665
7. Tennessee 16,543
8. Ohio State 16,510
9. Indiana 16,462
10. Kansas 16,300

Consistent Challengers
Ten of Creighton’s last 15 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley’s regular-season race. Two of the five that didn’t won the MVC Tournament.
The Bluejays won the MVC in 2000-01 and tied for the title in 2001-02 and 2008-09. CU was second in the MVC in 1997-98 and 2006-07, tied for second in the MVC in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06, and finished tied for third in 2004-05. The 1999-00 club was fourth in the MVC, but won the MVC Tournament, while the 2010-11 club tied for fourth place.
Creighton’s MVC Finishes, Last 15 Years
1st Place 2000-01
Tied for First 2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.), 2008-09
2nd Place 1997-98, 2002-03 (won MVC Tourn.),
2006-07 (won MVC Tourn.), 2011-12 (won MVC Tourn.)
Tied for 2nd 1998-99 (won MVC Tourn.), 2003-04, 2005-06
Tied for 3rd Place 2004-05 (won MVC Tourn.)
4th Place 1999-00 (won MVC Tourn.); 2007-08; 2009-10
Tied for 4th Place 2010-11

Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 617 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. That’s the longest active streak in the MVC.

CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 159 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in its 10 seasons at the facility.
The Bluejays own an 135-24 (.849) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Thursday (7-0) or Friday (6-0).
Creighton has outscored its opponents 11,923-10,074 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.6 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 38 different times, including seven times last season and twice this winter (Longwood, Saint Joseph’s).

Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 55 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 19 straight (at all sites) when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
In home games only, Creighton has won 93 straight games when scoring 71 or more points since a Feb. 5, 2005 loss to Missouri State.

Here’s To History
With the 2012 MVC Tournament title, Creighton head coach Greg McDermott became the first head coach in league history to win a Valley Tournament title at more than one school.
McDermott previously won a title in 2004 at Northern Iowa. The 1988 Northern Iowa grad McDermott also holds the honor of being the first coach in league history to win an MVC Tournament title at his alma mater.

Dance Partners
Only two schools won their league tournament in both men’s and women’s basketball in 2011-12: Creighton and South Dakota State.
This was the fifth time in MVC history that the same school has won the men’s and women’s tournament titles in the same season. Creighton, however, was the first program to do it twice (UNI 2010, Creighton 2002 and 2012, Missouri State 1992, Illinois State 1983).

McDermott A Preseason All-American
Junior forward Doug McDermott became the first player in MVC history to be named a preseason First Team All-American by the Associated Press. The team was announced on October 28th.
McDermott earned acclaim on 62-of-65 ballots, trailing only Indiana’s Cody Zeller. The rest of the team consisted of Isaiah Canaan (Murray State), Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State), Trey Burke (Michigan) and C.J. McCollum (Lehigh).
The preseason All-America team was first announced in 1986-87.

Watch This!
Junior Doug McDermott is on the preseason watch lists for both the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, two of the top awards in college basketball.
McDermott is the only man who was a finalist for either award to return to school this season.
The Naismith Award is presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and will be presented on April 7, 2013, in Atlanta.
The Wooden Award is presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and will handed out the weekend of April 12-13, 2013, in Los Angeles.

Everybody’s All-AmericanDoug McDermott hauled All-America honors on a regular basis last year.
He was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, Basketball Times and ESPN.com, and a second-team selection by The Sporting News and CBSSports.com. He was also named to the 10-man John R. Wooden Award All-America team.
Prior to McDermott, the only other player honored by the USBWA with All-America status had been second-team selection Kyle Korver in 2003, and the only prior NABC selections from Creighton had been second-teamer Paul Silas (1964) and third-team selections Benoit Benjamin (1985) and Kyle Korver (2003).
Last year McDermott was named CollegeInsider.com’s Lute Olson National Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Award, though Anthony Davis won both awards.

Scoring In NumbersDoug McDermott owned 801 points in 35 games last year, an average of 22.9 per contest that ranked him third nationally in scoring.
McDermott’s 22.9 points per game ranked fourth-most in CU single-season history and were the most since Bob Portman averaged 26.2 points per game in 1968-69.
Portman, who finished fifth nationally in scoring in 1967-68 (29.5 ppg.), was the only previous Bluejay to ever rank in the top-10 of the year-end scoring leaders.
McDermott’s 22.9 points per game made him the first MVC player over 20 points per game since Illinois State’s Tarise Bryson (2000-01) and the most by a MVC player since Northern Iowa’s Randy Blocker (23.0 ppg.) in 1993-94. Bryson had been the only MVC player since 1989 to rank in the top-five nationally in scoring.
No Bluejay had averaged more than 20 points per game since Bob Harstad’s 22.2 average in 1989-90.

Oscar, Bird, DougDoug McDermott set a Creighton (and MVC) record for points by a freshman with 581 in 2010-11. Last season, McDermott had 801 points, the most single-season points in school history by any player.
McDermott’s 1,382 points after two seasons were the most in school history by a player in their first two seasons, passing Bob Portman (1,195). According to STATS Inc., the only other players since 1996-97 with at least 1,382 points or more by the end of their sophomore season had been Davidson’s Stephen Curry (1,661 points from 2006-08), Eastern Washington’s Rodney Stuckey (1,438 points from 2005-07) and VMI’s Keydren Clark (1,497 points from 2002-04).
He became just the third sophomore in MVC history to reach 800 points in a season, trailing only Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird on that list. His 801 points from last year rank 10th-most in MVC single-season history and were the most by any Valley player since 1988.
Below is a list of the most prolific sophomore scorers in MVC history, as well as the top single-season scorers in Creighton history (all classes):
Top Scorers, MVC History (All Years)
Pts. Name, School Years
1125 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1987-88
1011 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1959-60
984 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-58
978 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1958-59
973 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1978-79
959 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1977-78
918 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-77
844 Xavier McDaniel, Wichita State 1984-85
815 Lewis Lloyd, Drake 1979-80
801 Doug McDermott, Creighton 2011-12
788 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1986-87
788 Willie Biles, Tulsa 1972-73

Familiar Fives
Creighton utilized the same starting line-up all season long in 2011-12, as Gregory Echenique, Doug McDermott, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Antoine Young started all 35 games.
According to STATS Inc., the only schools with the same starting five every game were Creighton, Missouri, Nevada, Wisconsin and Youngstown State.
Of those five schools above, the only teams to use the same starting five for every game in 2012-13 is Creighton and Nevada.

Last Season Recap
Creighton went 29-6 and reached the third round of the MVC Tournament last season. Creighton started the year 7-0 to move into the Associated Press top-25, a spot they would hold for 12 of the final 15 weeks.Doug McDermott ranked third nationally in scoring (22.9), scoring a school-record 801 points. He became the first sophomore named MVC Player of the Year and was a consensus First Team All-American.
Point guard Antoine Young (12.1 ppg., 4.5 apg.) was a second-team all-Valley pick, while center Gregory Echenique (9.7 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 1.6 bpg.) was named MVC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Grant Gibbs was runner-up for MVC Newcomer of the Year accolades after dishing a league-high 176 assists.
The Jays ranked second nationally in field goal percentage (.504), third in three-point percentage (.424), fifth in assists (17.6), sixth in home attendance (16,665) and ninth in scoring offense (79.2).
Creighton finished the regular-season second in the MVC before winning its league-record 11th Valley Tournament title to clinch an NCAA bid. At the NCAA’s, Creighton topped Alabama 58-57 before falling to No. 4 North Carolina.

Creighton Will Host in 2015, Again
The NCAA announced on Nov. 12, 2012, that Creighton will serve as the host institution on March 20/22, 2015, when the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament returns to CenturyLink Center Omaha for second/third-round games.
This will be the third time in a seven-year span the arena has hosted, having previously done so in 2008 and 2012 to much acclaim.
CenturyLink Center Omaha has previously hosted NCAA finals for women’s volleyball (2006, 2008) and wrestling (2010), as well as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming (2008, 2012). This January, it will host the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Shuttle Service Provided Again
Chief Bus will provide complimentary shuttle service from the Creighton University campus to CenturyLink Center Omaha for all men’s basketball home games this season. The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students.
The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game. The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Billy Blues Alumni Grill (outside the Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center entrance. The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes.
Following the game’s conclusion, the shuttle will start at the CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of three stops at 24th & California Streets.

Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2012-13 season will go on sale on October 29th at 10 am.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CenturyLink Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker’s, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000. Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $12 for adults and $8 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free).
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.